Mars City Shadowrun

egyptian deities

Worship of the gods and goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon has split along the lines of the schism. The Nile Delta based faction, led by the “true” Pharoah, is aligned closely with Isis and Osiris. The Pharoah also claims protection of the ancient Goddess, who appears in one of two aspects: Nekhbet (the vulture) and Wadjet (the cobra). The Earth factions prays to Anubis to protect their dead, and to the warrior goddess Sekhmet to protect their boundaries, and to help them heal.

On Mars, the Black Pharoah’s community has aligned itself with Set and Nephthys. Thoth is thought to be the keeper of the dead, as well as a powerful magician and mechanic. His temples are centers of research and experimentation. He is also the husband of Hathor, who is worshipped on both Mars and Earth, as a desert protector. Her temples are centers of beauty, creativity, and ritual prostitution. The wondering healer Khonsu is relied upon for aid on Mars, and his priests are the closest that the schismatics have to missionaries. Bastet is worshipped as a warrior goddess and sun deity.

Meshkenet, the giver of Ka (fate) as well as the goddess of childbirth, is present in both communites, as are Ptah (the god of craft), Horus/Ra (the god of the sun), and Selket (the goddess of magic). Ammit, the crocodile-headed weigher of fates is acknowledged in both communities, although he does not have temples, and is rarely worshipped. Recently, a death cult has sprung up around him amongst some of the more fatalistic temple and city guards in Heliopolis. Some of these guards have grafted crocodile prostheses to their heads/faces, or undergone extensive reconstructive surgery to have similar effects. Taking on the physical aspects of one’s main temple god/goddess is not unheard of in the Egyptian communites, but it rare outside of the priestly castes.

All of the gods have temples associated with carrying out functions in their areas of interest/expertise: i.e. Hathor has prostitutes, Thoth has magic and technology, etc. The exceptions are Ammit (as mentioned above) and Bes, a hearth goddess, who is worshipped individually and is especially popular with dwarves. The gods/godesses are not necessarily to be viewed as “good” and “evil,” but simply as being behind whichever faction they are currently backing-metahuman morals don’t concern or apply to them.